Editor's note: Michael Carlon is founder and managing storyteller at Vertigo Partners, a Stamford, Conn., research firm. 

I first started conducting user experience (UX) research back in 1997 while working for Modem Media, a digital ad agency. At that time, we were building some of the world’s first consumer-facing websites (mobile was still far off) for clients such as AT&T, Delta Air Lines, Citibank and JCPenney. We also built and ran the first banner ads; yes, you can blame Modem Media for those. It was a great time to start a career and since a lot of what we were doing had never been done before, we learned a lot through trial and error.

Modem was also the first agency of its kind to have a full-service research department and in those days our clients entrusted us to do everything from needs assessment (what features should be included in a website) to concept development (which designs are most appealing and why) to usability testing (how well a website meets consumer needs and where opportunities are for optimization). 

While I’ve worn many hats over the past two decades including client-side researcher and qualitative moderator, UX research remains at the center of my wheelhouse. These days, though, as a principal researcher, most of the UX projects I take on are very tactical, meaning a client has already identified a number of ways an existing site or mobile app can be changed and wants to test solutions that have already been built. While this tactical work is very rewarding, clients who only engage UX researchers to test solutions they’ve already developed are missing an opportunity to tap into our diverse skill sets and reap more value out of our relationship. Specifically, UX researchers can go beyond standard UX testing to help clients with needs identification, ideation and concept development.

Needs identification. Many UX researchers are trained in other aspects of consumer ...